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Terror Funding Ring Busted in US and Abroad
Washington D.C. – Three defendants, Muna Osman Jama, Hinda Osman Dhirane, and Farhia Hassan, were arrested today on charges of providing material support to al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
The indictment, unsealed after the arrests, charges the defendants with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and 20 counts of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on each count in the indictment.
According to court records, defendants Jama and Dhirane were the leaders of an al-Shabaab fundraising conspiracy operating in the United States, Kenya, the Netherlands, Somalia, and elsewhere. They allegedly directed a network composed primarily of women who provided monthly payments that were coordinated, facilitated, and tracked by the defendants to their conduits in Kenya and Somalia.
Jama was allegedly responsible for sending money to Kenya through her conduit, defendant Fardowsa Jama Mohamed, while Dhirane was primarily responsible for sending money to Somalia through her conduit, defendant Barira Hassan Abdullahi. The defendants would refer to the money they sent overseas as “living expenses,” and they repeatedly used code words such as “orphans” and “brothers in the mountains” to refer to al-Shabaab fighters, and “camels” to refer to trucks needed by al-Shabaab.
The money transfers often were broken down into small amounts as low as $50 or $100, and the funds were intended for use by al-Shabaab insurgents operating in Somalia. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington, D.C. and Seattle Field Offices, with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisting in coordinating the arrests and searches with foreign authorities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Gillis and Trial Attorney Danya E. Atiyeh of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division are prosecuting the case in the Eastern District of Virginia. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle also provided assistance.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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